A Dragon's Bad Day
by LunarBlaze
Summary: Did Natsu want to get sick? No. Did he want to miss an easy request that paid a lot? No. Did he plan or want on a certain someone looking after him while he was in a sickly state? Especially not. In other words, this wasn't Natsu's best day… or was it?
1. Chapter 1: How did I end up like this?

**_Hello, everyone. I'm LunarBlaze and this is my first Fairy Tail fanfic. Please review this story and enjoy! _**

**_(I don not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters)_**

**Chapter 1: How did I end up like this?**

A stifled cough echoed through the somewhat empty house of Natsu Dragneel and Happy the Exceed. "I HATE being sick. It's so annoying," moaned Natsu in a scratchy, hoarse voice. He had a hard time getting into a comfortable position in his hammock so instead decided on sleeping on the couch. Even so, his couch wasn't too comfortable either. "How did I get sick in the first- I remember now..."

A few days ago...

"Natsu! Did you catch one yet?" shouted Happy as flew over to his adopted father. They had been fishing at the lake for over an hour and had not even gotten a little nibble. Although, it was the middle winter; it was to be expected.

"Nope. Well, it's getting late so we should really-" Before Natsu could react, he was pulled into the freezing water with great force. Happy, frightened by the sudden "attack" on his best friend, began to search all over lake. Then the blue cat heard small splashing which quickly turned into incomplete shouting and hissing and struggling. The flying Happy swiftly followed the sounds of the fight. To his surprise, Happy found the DragonSlayer wrestling a huge fish (and huge as in as eight Elfmans or one huge Makarov).

"You- fish! I'm going- And when I'm done- YOU HEAR ME?" yelled Natsu as he was continuously dragged in and out of the water, unable to finish a single sentence. Finally, the fire mage had enough of the pathetic fight and gave the monstrous fish a taste of his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist. After knocking out the "fish" in a single blow, Natsu sluggishly dragged it out of the water and onto the lake's shoreline where he collapsed next to their dinner.

"Are you okay, Natsu? It took you quite awhile to beat this jumbo fish," Happy asked, afraid that something had happened to his close friend. That's when Happy noticed something was not right with the Fairy Tail mage. He seemed paler and out-of-breath.

"Don't worry, Happy. I'm perfectly! I was just caught off guard that's all." He grinned at his flying companion with his usual toothy smile, but instead of being natural it appeared more... forced. Happy wasn't too sure he could take his word for it but just nodded anyways and began blabbing on and on about how they were going to have a feast that night. Instead, Natsu just blocked out the cat's blabberings and focused on not trying to collapse into a heap of utter exhaustion. He knew things were going to get worse.

And they did.

Two days after the fishing trip, Natsu already felt like he was mauled by Erza multiple times and had no energy what-so-ever to even force his trademark grin. His nakama quickly noticed this change in attitude and personality (Gray tried picking fights with him, Happy and Lucy did everything they could to cheer Natsu up and get him to answer their questions, but Erza just dismissed it as a phase, despite being extremely worried as well) but the pink haired wizard dismissed it as exhaustion from training. Boy, did he make a mistake. A few hours later, Lucy picked out a request that paid a decent amount of money to defeat a thief guild. For Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy, they thought the request would be a cake walk. As for Natsu, he knew this would not end well.

After they had arrived at their client's house (which the client was sort of a pervert since he tried to look under Lucy's skirt but was quickly slapped away, courtesy of Lucy herself) and received information on the thief guild, Nightmare Needle*, Team Natsu quickly took off to take care of the troublesome guild. They were not only surprised by how easy it was to take care of the lowlife thieves but how much difficulty Natsu had fighting off only five people. "Natsu, are you sure you're alright?" Lucy asked as she lifted her hand up to Natsu's forehead.

"I'm fine," insisted the DragonSlayer as he grabbed Lucy's wrist. That was a mistake on Natsu's part. As soon as Lucy felt his hand she knew Natsu wasn't well. His palm was sticky with sweat and as hot as a burning bonfire.

"Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" snapped Lucy. Natsu thought she was criticizing him for being an idiot, but Lucy was, actually, extremely worried for her nakama's state of health and her nakama himself. But a small part of her was also hurt that the fire mage didn't tell anyone he was ill.

"Luce, I'm really..." Before he could finish, everything began to spin at extreme, his train of thought stopped immediately, and the world around him began to fade into darkness. The last thing Natsu heard was the worried shouts of his nakama. To him, Lucy's cries were the clearest. Two days had passed before he woke up again. Lucy and Happy had filled him in on what happened after he fainted. Apparently, wrestling in freezing cold water in the middle of winter wearing only a vest, pants, sandals, and a scarf was the easiest way to catch a cold, even for a FIRE DragonSlayer. Because Natsu hadn't given the time to rest and recover, the cold had rapidly developed into a high fever. In other words, he had to make up lost time starting at that moment.

Present day

After reminiscing through the memory, the pink haired mage sighed and rolled onto his right side, attempting to try and get comfortable again. He was planning to go on an easy request that paid A LOT (A LOT, A LOT) that he had reserved** before he had left for the thief request. Since he was sick in bed (Or on the couch), Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy took it for him, promising they'll give the Salamander his share of the reward. "I still wanted to go anyways..." complained the irritated Natsu before he starting coughing from the small amount of strain he put on his throat. _"Note to self: don't talk until I feel better."_ And people THINK Natsu doesn't know how to think logically. They're wrong... one percent of the time. _"I'm so bored! What can I do when I'm stuck in bed?"_thought Natsu irritably. Then he heard a knock at the door and then a voice; a voice he was too familiar with.

"Natsu, are you awake?"

_"Why is 'she' here? I thought she was on the request!"_ Natsu kept trying to think of what he should do. Three ideas came to mind. Should he A: ignore her and pretend to sleep (_"She'd come in anyway."_), B: let her come in (_"And let her baby me? Actually... in that does sound ni- What am I thinking? Get a hold of yourself, Natsu!"_) or C: tell her to go away (_"That would hurt her feelings... What the heck? I'm not a sissy!"_). But the answer was D: "none of the above" for she had already walked in during his "thinking". Natsu was too distracted to notice her until she walked past the couch. _"She already came inside! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"_ As Natsu continued to mentally call himself "stupid", the girl placed a wet cloth on Natsu's forehead in hopes that it would cool down his fever. At that moment, he noticed the girl's presence next to him. "L-Luce..."

**References:**

*** I couldn't think of a better name for a dark guild… it's very cheesy**

**** I don't remember if you can reserve requests so I'm just going to roll with it**

_**I'm REALLY sorry if I made Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Gray, or Erza OOC. Again, this is my first time writing a Fairy Tail fanfic. Anyways, what do you think? Please review this story and if I made any mistakes, please tell me. If you liked it, thank you for enjoying it and than be prepared for the next chapter. Until next time!**_

_**-LunarBlaze**_


	2. Chapter 2: Why are you here?

_**Hey, everyone! I'm back for more! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. There will definitely be a little bit of NaLu fluff and humor in this chapter. But first let me answer a question.**_

_**To **__**JazANIME**__**: Yes, Natsu knew Lucy was at the door. So he was, indeed, planning to ignore Lucy.**_

_**Enjoy and review! (I don not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters)**_

**Chapter 2: Why are you here?  
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>"L-Luce... what are you doing here...?" The words that came out Natsu's mouth, despite being strained and weak, caused him to start coughing once again. Lucy didn't say anything and stalked towards the kitchen. The DragonSlayer inwardly cursed at the idea that he had worried his nakama with his statement. <em>"Why is Luce here anyways? Did she come here on her own or did someone tell to stay behind and come her here?"<em> The last part of his thought gave him a pang of guilt. _"Her rent is coming up and she's missing the request that can easily pay the rent for months."_ The DragonSlayer couldn't help but feel that celestial mage's misfortune of babysitting him was all his fault (which it sort of was, Natsu). He continued moving around on the couch to get comfortable. Unfortunately, he rolled too much to the right and fell off. With a loud thud, he hit the floor, groaning in great discomfort.

"Natsu! Are you okay?" shouted Lucy as she ran towards the moaning Natsu. The DragonSlayer, slightly disorientated, quickly nodded and sat up. Or at least, tried to before collapsing onto the floor and trying again and again. The blonde haired magician could only sigh and shake her head at Natsu's attempts to get up. When she finally had enough of the nonsense, Lucy decided to help the sick fire wizard back onto the couch. After she finally got Natsu back onto his somewhat comfy couch, Lucy walked back towards the kitchen.

_"I NEED to ask Luce as soon as possible. But, she probably won't answer right away since she's a weirdo and all,"_ thought Natsu before he glanced at Lucy in the kitchen. She was making something but that was all Natsu could figure out* before she started walking back towards the couch. She was holding a bowl on a plate with some sort of bottle on it but for some reason was wearing an oven mitten on her hand. "Hey, Luce..." croaked Natsu. "I need to ask you some-" But before he could finish, Lucy had stuffed a spoon into the pink haired teen's mouth. It tasted delicious and hot. Very hot... which would explain the mitten on Lucy's hand. Without thinking, Natsu took the bowl from Lucy's hand and drank it all down in one gulp, soup and all. His throat felt much more alive and started to feel little like his old self again. "That was DELICIOUS, Luce! I always thought your cooking was horrible but this soup tasted like fire!" cheered Natsu as he gave Lucy his signature grin.

"That's good. I tossed in a LOT of spicy food like jalapeños and curry in there with some basic chicken soup ingredients too," replied Lucy with a happy tone and smile until her face took on a serious look. "But what did you say about my cooking...?" An evil aura began to manifest around the blonde while the fire mage shivered at the demonic feeling.

"Nothing at all, Luce!" answered the frightened the Salamander, protectively waving his arms in front of himself.

"Doesn't matter. Time for your punishment." Lucy opened the bottle that had been resting on the platter. Despite being sick, Natsu could tell that the liquid inside the bottle smelled horrible. Even Lucy had wrinkled her nose when she opened the bottle. "Open wide, Natsu." At that remark, Natsu stumbled off the couch and ran from Lucy, sort of. The celestial mage continued to chase the Fire DragonSlayer around the house until Natsu, eventually, tripped over one of his sandals. With that mistake, Lucy's victory was sealed. She pushed the sick teen into a corner and forced a spoonful of the awful liquid down his throat. At first, Natsu was going to spit out the medicine but then thought about the repercussions if he did. As a result, he swallowed and shivered as it travelled down his throat. Satisfied that he took the fever reducer, Lucy was about to make dinner for herself until Natsu grabbed her arm, stopping her movement completely with the heat of his fever. "What is it, Natsu?"

"Luce… did you…" Natsu couldn't get the words to form in his mouth despite being able to speak without coughing now. When the words finally formed five minutes later, the pink haired mage couldn't look at Lucy without worrying about freezing or losing his train of thought so he looked at the floor. "Luce, why did you come here? You could have gone with Erza, Happy, and Ice Brain on the request and get enough money to pay your rent for months. Instead, you came here. Did you come here because Erza or Mira told you to or did you come here on your own?" Natsu asked nervously after a faint blush had formed on his cheeks before he started talking. After he asked, only silence remained, with the only noise being their breathing. At first, the Salamander thought he offended the celestial magician and was about to apologize until he felt a hand hold one of his warm cheek. He looked up to see Lucy smiling warmly at him.

"Of course I came her of my own free will, idiot. You're my best friend and you've already done so much for me, so this is my way to make it up to you. Besides, _we_ can always go on a request after you get better, right?" Natsu gave her a toothy grin and nodded. He was grateful to hear her answer. It was true. They were best friends and did a lot for each other like when Natsu uprooted the rainbow sakura tree just for Lucy** and Lucy cleaned Natsu's and Happy's house***. And whenever Lucy's rent was coming close to its deadline, Natsu and Happy (mostly Natsu) would always help her make her payments on time. They would always be there for the other. They were best friends.

They were nakama.

**References:**

***He's sick so his sense of smell would definitely be weaker than the average human's**

****For those of you new Fairy Tal fans, it is an omake called Rainbow Sakura being the only full colored chapter Hiro Mashima has ever done for Fairy Tail**

*****Again for newbies, this was in the most recent omake where they show where Natsu and Happy live, and near the end, Lucy cleans their house for them**

_**I think I might have made Lucy and Natsu a bit OOC but it's trial and error in the world of writing. Please review my story and tell me if there's anything I need to change. Oh, and if you have any ideas which category or categories I should put this under, please include it in the review or PM me. Anyways, I think I might write either one more chapter or two but that just depends how the next one turns out. See ya later!**_

_**-LunarBlaze**_


	3. Chapter 3: What do you think of me?

_**Hey everyone! I think this might be the last chapter (I might make a epilogue but I'll think about it) of this story. I will definitely make more later on. But if you have ideas for one-shots or something like that but you don't want to do it yourself, PM me and I might consider it. The recommendation that jazANIME had offered about making this story a romance and humor one seems like a good idea. Anyways, I've bored you guys long enough. Read, enjoy, review. (I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima)**_

**Chapter 3: What do you think of me?**

As the sun slowly rose above the horizon, a cool breeze swept through the grounded tree house. The calm gust aroused the drowsy DragonSlayer from his deep sleep. "How did I get back onto the couch...? I guess I must have fallen asleep..." yawned Natsu, stretching out his stiff joints. After finishing his quick stretches, he noticed a certain blonde mage napping in his hammock. Natsu couldn't help but smile at Lucy's complete comfort and peace in _his_hammock. "I guess she wanted to make sure I was okay for the night." The fire mage began to replay yesterday's conversation. They were nakama but Natsu's heart felt like it was going to break when she said that. Although, Natsu couldn't figure out why he felt that way. He continued to listen her words in his head over and over. Every time she said they were nakama, his felt he was going to die. The pink haired wizard slammed his fist against the armrest in frustration, furious that he could not figure out what made his heart linger with pain.

"Natsu, what's wrong?"

The fire mage turned his head towards the now awake blonde. Her hair was a little messy and her eyes were still foggy with tiredness. _"Smooth move, Natsu..."_At that point, Natsu wanted to smack himself for waking the sleep deprived mage, but instead, he grinned and happily said "good morning". Lucy returned the greeting with a nonchalant one, still exhausted from taking care of Natsu last night.

"What do you want for breakfast, Natsu? I can make bacon, eggs, but NO FIRE," replied Lucy, seeing a crushed Natsu stare wide eyed at her.

"No fire! I need FIRE! Please, Luce, PLEASE! BEG OF YOU!" pleaded Natsu as he got on his knees and continued saying something about fire and needing it.

"Okay, fine. BUT. You need to take the fever reducer again." Lucy crossed her arms as she said this. "Your fever got worst last night while you were asleep." The last thing Lucy said didn't register into Natsu's head. Once Natsu heard "fever reducer", he KNEW that meant drinking that vial liquid again and only focused on that. He didn't want to take it again, but if was to get his fire, he would do it.

"Fine..." He hesitantly took the opened bottle from Lucy and began to chug it down his gullet.

"Wait! Natsu! Not that much! You're only suppose to drink a spoonful!"

"Only a… spoonful…?" Natsu hesitantly repeated as the world around him began to spin and become spotty. Before he could get the world to stop swaying, the fire mage crumpled onto the floor. Before the darkness engulfed the salmon haired magician, he heard Lucy call out to him and a pair of warm arms reach out to him. Instead of feeling pain, the wizard felt warmth and comfort. As the Salamander lazily opened his eyes once again for the second time that day, his head pounded like a beating drum, leaving his mind hazy and unable to think.

"It's about time you got up, idiot," sighed Lucy in an upset yet relieved tone. "That's what happens when you try to drink an entire bottle of fever reducer." The celestial wizard shook her head in disapproval at the fire mage's density.

"It's not my fault! I wanted fire! Besides YOU said I have to take that stuff to get fire!" shouted Natsu as he jumped off the couch. Once he got off, his head once again began torturing him with a major headache. All Natsu could do was hold his head in pain and curse loudly to the ceiling.

"You're definitely becoming the old Natsu again," replied Lucy as she watched the DragonSlayer run around the room. She giggled when he tripped over some of his own clothes. Lucy had a feeling Natsu would be able to get over his fever easily. Then again, he was Fairy Tail's Salamander, nothing could hold him down for long. But her laughs stopped when she heard a loud growl.

"Luce, I'm hungry… could you make me something…?" whined the salmon haired wizard while his head still pound greatly. The blonde mage could only nod her head and back to the stove, knowing Natsu either wanted meat, fire or a combination of both. Lucy could only sigh at the boy's simplicity. As she began cooking dinner (yes, it was that late), Natsu began to reminiscent all these weird feelings he's had around Lucy. _"She makes me feel like there's nothing wrong. She's my nakama of course nothing bad happens when you stick together… but it feels more powerful around her."_ Before he could plague his mind with more ideas (which he probably couldn't because of his headache), Lucy called him over to come and eat. "Luce, I need to ask you something."

"What is it, Natsu?" She stopped eating to notice a faint blush painted across Natsu's cheeks. Lucy was quite surprised to see the usually confident and loudmouth Salamander blushing and actually avoiding eye contact with her.

"What do you think of me?"

"What do I think of you?" At first, the celestial magician thought that Natsu was going to ask him something random and completely irrelevant. After silence had taken over for over a minute, Natsu began to think Lucy didn't want to answer his question and continued eating. A second later, he heard a soft sigh escape his nakama's mouth and looked at her. "You're dense, idiotic, loudmouthed, short-tempered, rowdy…" As the negative list of traits continued, a sword was continuously piercing Natsu's heart with each insult. "stupid, reckless, rash… but I think you're a great guy. I mean, you're strong and you can be very considerate to others sometimes. You also always see the good in a person and you're always there right beside your nakama. And you're always there when we need you. When I need you, Natsu. You always help through thick and thin. Even when I looked at the bad things in life, you were always there, encouraging me to never give up and keep moving forward. If it wasn't for you, Natsu, who knows where I'd be today," stated Lucy in a kind voice with a warm, genuine smile. Natsu couldn't help but give Lucy a small, soft smile, a smile that she only saw once in her entire life*. Now he finally knew how Lucy truly felt about him and he finally figured out how he felt about Lucy.

"Hey, Luce."

"Yeah, Natsu? What is it?"

"Thanks." With that, he lightly kissed the celestial mage's cheek. The only thing Lucy could return to Natsu was an embrace of complete and utter joy. The idiot finally picked up on her clues and his own.

Now they were more than best friends.

More than nakama.

They were in love and nothing could stop it from coming true.

It was the will of fate.

**References:**

***Natsu's soft smile was from the end of episode 49**

_**Well. That ended differently than I had imagined. A little cheesy though. I'm still considering an epilogue but that's only if I can think of something good. Again, I'm sorry if Lucy and Natsu was OOC. I'm glad for those of you who read and enjoyed this story will enjoy some of my other stories (when I get started on them). See ya later!**_

_**-LunarBlaze**_


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